Pressure responsive mixing valve



Nov. 16, 1937. F. L. HENNING x-:T Ax. 2,099,563

PRESSURE RESPONSIVE MIXING VALVE Filed Feb. 11, 1935 2 sheets-sheet 1 Nxr. A16, 1937. F. HENNING ET AL. I 2,099,563

PRESSURE RESPONSIVE MIXING VALVE Filed Feb. -ll, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nsv. 1s, 1931 nessuna mssroNsrvu'Mumie,vstvaA Francis L. Henning, Boston, and George W.- Bezanson, Winchester, Mass.; said Henning assignor to said Bezanson Application February 1l, 1935, Serial No. 5,976

r claim. (ci. avv-fla) This invention relates to water-mixing valves for regulating and proportioning the mixture of two streams of water of diierent temperature so as to deliver a mixed stream at any desired intermediate temperature. An object of the invention is to provide a mixing valve which will be positively anti-scald, and which will provide under ordinary conditions of service a stream l of substantially constant temperature.

y automatic Pressures at the delivery ends of hot and cold water pipes are constantly subject to considerable iluctuation. This is particularly noticeable in dwellings having water-supply systems connected to the water main by a single pipe of ordinary size. According to common experience, the opening of a faucet in such systems will materially reduce and may even stop a stream owing from another faucet. For example, if avfaucet in the cellar of a house isv opened when a stream is being drawn from a faucet on the second floor, the pressure of the latter stream will be diminished so that the ilow may be reduced, stopped or reversed. `If a sh'ower bath is being taken, the opening'of a faucet elsewhere in the house will change the proportion of mix in the hot and cold water supply to the shower and will thus change the temperature ofthe shower. Such changes may result in the delivery of dangerously hot water if the cold water pressure fails entirely `as it often does. To meet this diillculty, various thermostatically controlled mixing valves have been devised' to respond to changes of temperature in the mixed stream. Such valves are valuable for certainusesrbut are subject to a `lag in their response to changes oftemperatures since heat must be transferred from the stream to' thethermostatic element before thelatter can act.fv f" :It is an object'of the ""present invention to provide a, self-regulating mixing 'valve which is responsive to changes in the pressures ofthe streams-'supplied thereto, and which therefore acts instantly when the pressure in either the hot or cold water supply changes. It is another object of the invention izo/provide means acting to lcut off. the hot water supply completely when the cold water pressure fails. It isa further object of the invention to 4provide compact, eicient ,cam `means for lthe 'manual regulation of the' proportioning valves which controlv the admissionv .offhot and cold water into the mixing chamber. Clt-is a further object of the invention to provide simple, accessible means for adjusting the valve 'Ioritheavailable service waterpressure after the valve has been installed.

`chambers and I2`.

, 25 is provided with one or Other advantageous features will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the disclosure of the invention inrthe following description of, an

embodiment thereof, and on the drawings, of 's Figure 1 is a front elevation of a valve embodyl ling the invention.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the automatic portion of the valve, showing the moving Aparts in different positions from those shown in Figure 2.

Figure 5 isa development of the valve-operating cam, the control valves being shown in section.

As indicated in Figures 1 and 2, the valve may comprise a casing consisting of any suitable number of parts assembled together, this casing enclosing a mixing chamber II) and a pair of ante- The antechamber II is provided with an inlet I5 and an outlet I6, the latter opening into the mixing chamber II). The antechamber I2 is provided with'an inlet -II and. an outlet I8, the latter opening into the mixing chamber III. Thus theantechambers and I2, together with their respective inlets and outlets, constitute passages for hot and cold water con-l necting the respective supply pipes with the mixing chamber I0. The mixing chamber is provided'with an outlet member 20 adapted to be connected to a. pipe 2| for the delivery of mixed hot and cold ,water to a shower tting or elsewhere. y

The proportioning of the streams of hot and cold ywater which enter the mixing chamber I0 is manually controlled through a pair of valve mechanisms which are adaptedto shut oi the outlets I6 and I8 which open into the mixing chamber. --These control valves and" their operating mechanism may be of any preferred construction;A As shown, each valve mechanism may comprise a cylindrical casing 25 in which a plunger 26 is slidable, this plunger having on its inner end a valve element 3|) adapted to engage a valve seat 3| at the orifice of the hot or cold water outlets I6 and I8. 'I'he side wall of each cylinder more ports 32 to admit into the mixing` chamber the water which passes the clearance between the valve elementl) and. its seat 3|. Each plunger 26 may be provided with a wheel 35 at its outer end ,mounted on an axle 36, the projecting ends of which ride in a pair of notches 31 in the louter end of the ylinder 25, The whee1s`35 are cam followers and bear against a circular cam face 33 which may be formed on a member 40. This member is circular and has an inwardly projecting, cup-shaped portion 4I to make room for a stulng-box 42 which is integral with the casing. The box 42 contains suitable packing 44 which is compressed by a follower 43 in the usual manner. From the center of the cam member 40 a hollow operating shaft 45 projects out through the box 42 and follower 43. A handle 46 is mounted on the outer end of the shaft 45 and is operable to rotate the cam member 40. The profile of the circular cam face 38 is shown in Figure 5 as a straight development. Half of this cam is adapted for engagement with the hot Water valve mechanism, the other half being adapted for 'engagement with the cold water valve mechanism. Thus the total operating rotation of the handle 46 is a little less than 180. As indicated in Figure 5, the cam member 40 is provided with two high points 41, 48, located at diametrically opposite points. The valve casings 25 are so adjusted with reference to the cam member 40 that, vwhen the wheels or rollers 35 are on the high points 41 and 48, the.

valve elements 30 are tightly pressed 'against their respective valve seats 3l. When the handle 46 is turned so as to turn on the water, the cold water valve roller 35 rolls oi the high point 41 Y to a depression 50, thus opening the cold Water valve 30 to its maximum. The hot water valve roller 35, on the other hand, rolls along a portion 5I of the cam surface which recedes gradually from the high point 48, so that, while the cold water valve 30 is opening to its widest extent,

there is little or no opening of the hot water valve. Further rotation of the handle 46 results in movement of the cold water valve roller 35 along a' gradually rising portion 52 of the cam which has the effect of gradually closing the cold waterv valve. At the same time the hot Water valve roller 35 rides along a gradually descending portion 53 of thecam, this resulting in a gradual opening o f the hot water valve while the cold.`

conditions where it is to be employed, so that it will be impossible to turn on an excessive proportion of hot water which might result in dangerously high temperatures. To this end, the member 40 is adapted to yield outwardly but pressed toward the cam-followers 35 by a spring 55 which is seated within the cup-shaped portion 4| of the member 40 and which -is of suiiicient stiffness to overcome the pressure of water against the valves 30. To facilitate adjustment of the valve, the cam member 40 may be provided with a central bearing element 56 which, as shown in Figure 2, is disposed within the hollow shaft 45 and is in threaded engagement therewith for longitudinal adjustment. The bearing element may be locked in any position of adjustment by a locking element 51 which may be set up tightly against its outer end. Ordinarily the adjustment of the bearing element is such that it is 'clear of its seat when the .valve is fully closed, the whole member 4I! being lifted as the cam followers 35 ride on the high points 41 and 48 ofthe cam. When the cam member 40 is rotated, the bear'- ing element 56 moves inward as the rollers 35 ride oil? the high points of the cam surface until it engages its seat. During the remainder of the valve-opening movement of the member 40,the movementsof the valves 30 are controlled solely by the contour of the cam surface 38. Since the portions of the cam surface 38 `for controllingl the hot and cold Water valves, respectively, have different contours, changes in the adjustment of the bearing element 56 will have different effects in the operation of the two valves 30 so that the the purpose of compensating for accidental variations in the pressures of the hot and cold water supplies; According to the invention, the automatic apparatus responds to changes in pressure in the hot or cold Water supply, so that, in 'case of substantial failure of pressure in the cold water supply, the stream of hot water will be instantly reduced or cut oi entirely sol that the possibility of delivery of scalding water from the device is entirely obviated.

As indicated in Figures 2 and 4, the antechambers Il and I2 are separated by a partition member 60 to which is secured one end of a bellows 6I, the bellows being disposed in the hot water antechamber II. A stem 62 is attached to thefree end of the bellows and slidably projects through the partition member 6D. This partition member may be provided with one or more apertures 63 through which thepressure of the iiuid in the antechamber I2 is communicated tothe interior' of the bellows 6I, the exterior of the bellows-being exposed to fluid pressure in the antechamber I I. In order to maintain the bellows normally in Aa balanced condition so as tobe capable of movement in. either direction byv changes of pressure, the bellows may be partly contracted by a spring 65 which, as shown in Figure 2, may bear against the partition member 60 at one end and against a suitable disk 66 carried by the stem 62. Attached to the opposite ends of the stem 62 are a pair of valvev elements 10 and 1I for controlling the hot and cold water inlets respectively. The valve elements 10 and 1l are'movablesimultaneously with-tha stem 62 when the bellows 6I expands or .contracts in response to pressure conditionsl in the antechambers. It is desirable, vin case of small decreases in the pressure of the cold watersupply, to reduce the `hot water stream proportionately. To this end, the valve element.A 1li, is provided with a tapering portion 12.which cooperates with a cylindrical `bore 13 in the hot water inlet. It is evident from Figure 2 that, as` the valve member 10 moves toward the right in response to an increase in hot water supply pressure or a decrease in cold water'supply pressure, the clearance between the taper portion 12 of the valve and a bore 13A will be gradually diminished as the valve moves toward 'the right so that the decrease in the stream of 'hot water admitted into -the antechamber II will b'e roughly proportional to the distance of movement of the valve. The

. taper portion 12 of the valve'memberlll adjoins fil) this type, a certain amount of leakage is practiclly unavoidable since suiiicient clearance valve, thus cutting oi completely the leakage of v hot water past the valve element 15 after it has entered the bore 13 to shut oi the hot water stream. The cold Water valve consists of a cylinder 80 which is adapted to enter a cylindrical bore 8l in the cold water inlet. If desired, the valve member 80 may have a reduced extension 82 with a cylindrical end member 83 sliding on longitudinal ribs 84 as a guide member. The valve member 80 may also slide on guide ribs 85 in the inlet passage so as to keep it centered. The entering end of the valve member 80 approaches the bore 8| during the closing movement of thehot water valve and starts to enter the bore justifafter the hot Water valve memberl 15 enters the bore 13. As the cold water valve member 80 approaches the adjacent end of the bore 8 I, there is suiiicient clearance between the valve and the end of the bore to permit considerable iiow of water through the inlet until the valve member nearly reaches the bore. Then the flow of cold water is shut off comparatively suddenly, the valve, however, being subject to some leakage since in order to work freely a clearance must be allowed between the valve member 80'and the wall of the bore 8|.

During the ordinary operation of the valve, the balance between the bellows 6l and the spring 65 is such as tomaintain the water pressure in the two antechambers substantially equal, the proportion of iiow between the two streams being manually regulated by adjustment of the valves 30 through manipulation of the handle 46. If there should be a slight drop in the cold water supply pressure, an instant contraction of the bellows 6| occurs, moving the stem 62 and the valve members 10 and 80 toward the closed position, this motion being of suflicent amount to reduce the hot water stream passing the tapered portion 12 of the valve 10 until the pressures in the chambers Il and motion of the valve 88 toward the right has a negligible eifect on the flow of the cold jwater stream owing to the ample clearance between I2 are equalized. A small i the adjacent edges of the valve member 88 and the bore 8l. If the cold water pressure substantially or entirely fails, as it often does in domestic water supply systems, the pressure of the hot water on the bellows 6I moves the valves all of the way over to their closed position. In reaching this position, the hot water valve 15 is the rst to close. This cuts oif the hot water stream, except for leakage, so that the excess pressure on the bellows 6| pressure, however, acts on the end surface of the valve member 18 to complete the movement o! the valve members to their closed positions. The reduction of pressure in the chamber II resulting from the closing of the valve member 15 prevents the poppet valve 16 from slamming against its seat 11. Instead, the poppet valve 16 is gently but firmly pressed against its seat so as to cut ofi the leakage past the valve 15. Between the closing of the valve 15 and the valve 16, the cold water valve 80 reaches its closed position as its end enters the bore 8|. Thus a failure of the cold water supply results lin a substantial shutting off of both hot water and cold water streams, except for cold water leakage past thevalve 88. The valve is held in this closed position by hot water pressure against .the end of the valve member 10. When cold water pressure is restored, the pressure on the end of the cold water valve, combined with the restoring force of the compressed bellows 6I, moves the spindle 62 with the valves 10 and 88 toward the left, as in Figure 2, thus opening both the hot and cold water valves.

We claimz- A hot and cold water mixing device having a passage for cold water and a passage including av valve chamber for hot water, a valve in said chamber, and a cylindricall bellows having an end head connected to said valve for actuation thereof, one surface of said end -head being exposed to said hot water passage on the discharge side of said valve, the other surface of said end head being exposed to said cold water passage, said valve having a poppet portion adapted to seat at the discharge end of said chamber movable to close said hot waterpassage tightly and a tapered portion toward the inlet end of the chamber movable to reduce the flow gradually and substantially to close the passage before the poppet portion reaches its seat.

FRANCIS L. HENNING. ',GEORGE W. BEZANSON.

is at once relieved. The supply' 

